Janey, Kim, 1965-

Kim Michelle Janey (born May 16, 1965) is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served as President of the Boston City Council since 2020, and as a member of the council from the 7th district since 2018. Janey also served as Acting Mayor of Boston for eight months in 2021. She is the first woman and first black person to serve as acting mayor of the city during a vacancy in the office of mayor.

Born and raised in Roxbury, Boston, she attended high school in Reading, Massachusetts before going on to community college and ultimately earning a degree from Smith College in 1994. Janey worked as a community organizer and education advocate for Parents United for Child Care. She joined the Massachusetts Advocates for Children, a nonprofit, in 2001. At Massachusetts Advocates for Children, she worked for roughly seventeen years as an activist and project director, mainly focusing on eliminating the opportunity and achievement gaps in education for children of color, children learning English as a second language, children with special needs, and children living in poverty. Janey was first elected to the council in November 2017, as the representative of District 7, which includes Roxbury, and parts of Dorchester, the Fenway and the South End. When she was sworn in in January 2018, she became the first woman to represent District 7 on the council.

As a member of the council, she has focused on education and social justice and supports changing the method of choosing Boston School Committee members, replacing the current system of mayoral appointment with an elected school committee. In January 2020, Janey was elected as president of the City Council by her fellow councilors. In this role, she became the acting mayor of Boston following the resignation of Mayor Marty Walsh, as prescribed by the Boston City Charter. Janey is the first woman and the first person of color to serve as acting mayor of Boston during a vacancy in the office. As Mayor, she led the City through a multitude of unprecedented challenges, including the COVID-19 global pandemic. Running for a full term in September 2021, Janey placed fourth behind Michelle Wu, Annissa Essaibi George, and Andrea Joy Campbell.

Janey's term on the Boston city council expires in January 2022.